TV INDIANS, 2017

In this scene, Puebloan people sit atop a cliff overlooking the Galisteo Basin. The man in the center looks away from the camera and into the distance. Unlike him, the three women in the photo lean casually against the pile of dated television sets behind them. TV Indians was initially conceived of in thinking about the ruins in the New Mexico landscape of adobe bricks and the mission that have fallen into just remnants and fantastic geometric shapes. Simultaneously, thinking about our American consumerism and these ideas of our new ruins and the landscape. I gathered 40 TVs from a nearby recycling center to create the setting. Displayed on these screens are a series of images, some iconic and others not as familiar, illustrating how Native Americans are portrayed in media directly confronted with their source of inspiration and vice versa. Images include cultural references to events that have affected Native communities, like the test detonation of the atomic bomb in New Mexico in 1945 or the raising of the American flag at Iwo Jima, but also stereotypical selections, including Keep America Beautiful’s “Crying Indian” ad campaign and a shot from the 1990 film Dances with Wolves. The expressions of subjects appear defiant. The contrast between the Pueblo people and the images on the screens reveals how nonsensical the old stereotypes are.

Collections: Newberry Library, Ruth Chandler Williamson Gallery